Known as the Cinch Championships for sponsorship purposes, the Queen’s Club Championships in London, United Kingdom, is among the world’s oldest tennis main events.
A precursor to Wimbledon, the only grass court grand slam on the tennis schedule, the Queen’s Club Championships has been held every year, with a couple of exceptions, since 1890.
Matteo Berettini is the two-time defending champion but isn’t part of any Cinch Championships predictions this year as he withdrew from the tournament due to a recurring abdominal injury.
Carlos Alcaraz, world No. 2 and 2022 US Open champion is the top seed in a decent field that also includes Cameron Norrie, Taylor Fritz, and Frances Tiafoe, who is coming off of a thrilling three-set win in the finals at Stuttgart.
Top Half of the Draw Prediction
The first day of action is nearly complete in London, and already Norrie and American Sebastian Korda have advanced through to the second round in Cinch Championships predictions.
Alcaraz, the top seed in the top half of the bracket, takes on qualifier Arthur Fils on Tuesday. Tiafoe, Francisco Cerundolo, Emil Ruusuvuori, and the returning Milos Raonic are among the other notable players in the top half of the draw.
Obviously, Alcaraz is one of the clear tennis picks to win this half of the draw and the entire Cinch Championships prediction. However, he is making his debut at the event and isn’t exactly world-class on grass as he is on clay. There are also concerns about his conditioning as he showed clear signs of cramping and fatigue in the semifinals of the French Open against Novak Djokovic.
Raonic, a finalist in the 2016 Wimbledon, has a chance to surprise some people as he continues his comeback from injury. He’s at his best on grass but will have to get through Jordan Thompson, whom he lost to last week, and Norrie to advance to the quarters.
Tiafoe is the best pick to win the top half of the draw. He is one of the scrappiest players on the ATP Tour, as evidenced by his six tiebreak sets in Stuttgart, and is 16-6 on grass going back to 2021.
- Winner: Frances Tiafoe
Bottom Half of the Draw Prediction
Already through to the second round in the bottom half of the draw are Lorenzo Musetti, Ben Shelton, Ryan Peniston, and Diego Schwartzman. Others still to play include No. 2 seed Holger Rune and five-time champion Andy Murray.
Rune is the clear favorite as the 20-year-old Dane is among the best young players on the ATP Tour and has favorable tennis odds in his first-round match against Maxime Cressey. Should he win that, he’ll take on Peniston, a wild card entry, in the second round. A victory there would set up a quarter-final match against Musetti or Shelton.
Pay close attention to Tuesday’s match between Alex de Minaur and Murray, as the winner could very well be Rune’s opponent in the semifinal. While de Minaur is the younger and higher-ranked player, Murray is still an incredibly difficult and intense opponent on grass.
Not only is he a five-time champion at Queen’s Club, but he is also coming off of back-to-back grass court titles on the ATP Challenger Tour. He’s 10-0 on grass this season.
- Winner: Andy Murray
Cinch Championships Final Prediction
Assuming a Tiafoe and Murray final, I’d have to pick Tiafoe for the victory. Murray might be playing at a high level on grass, but he’s faced lesser competition on the Challenger Tour, and his condition, at 36 years old, could be an issue by the final. Tiafoe, meanwhile, excels in difficult conditions.
When making your Cinch Championships predictions, go with Tiafoe!
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